The music world is in mourning with the news that Nell Smith has passed away at just 17 years of age.
Simon Raymonde, bassist/keyboardist for Cocteau Twins whose label Bella Union was prepping her debut album, confirmed her death on Instagram.
While no cause of death was given, The Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne announced her death at a show in Portland, Oregon, stating she died in a car accident.
Raymonde shared five snaps of Nell, one with her and brother Ike, another of her standing by a campfire with a guitar, another of her with Coyne in London, another with the vinyl of her song Where The Viaduct Looms’ and her with Warren Ellis.
‘We are all shocked and devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic passing of our artist and dear friend Nell Smith, over the weekend in British Columbia,’ Raymonde began.
The music world is in mourning with the news that Nell Smith has passed away at just 17 years of age
Raymonde shared five snaps of Nell, one with her and brother Ike, another of her standing by a campfire with a guitar, another of her with Coyne in London, another with the vinyl of her song Where The Viaduct Looms’ and her with Warren Ellis
‘Nell was just 17 and was preparing for the release of her first solo record in early 2025 on Bella Union, made in Brighton with Penelope Isles’ Jack and Lily Wolter,’ he added.
‘Her first release was an album of covers of Nick Cave songs recorded with fellow Bella Union artistes The Flaming Lips back in 2021 entitled, Where The Viaduct Looms,’ he added.
‘While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time,’ he concluded.
During The Flaming Lips show on Saturday, Coyne announced her death to the crowd.
‘We have a Canadian friend, her name is Nell. We recorded an amazing album with her three years ago, an album full of songs by Nick Cave,’ Coyne began.
‘We got some very sad messages today… that she was killed in a car accident last night,’ he added, while getting choked up.
‘We are reminded once again of the power of music and how encouraging it can be to be around people that you love,’ he said.
Smith and her parents would frequently take her to The Flaming Lips shows, where she always wore a parrot costume to the band’s shows in Calgary.
‘Nell was just 17 and was preparing for the release of her first solo record in early 2025 on Bella Union, made in Brighton with Penelope Isles’ Jack and Lily Wolter,’ he added
‘While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time,’ he concluded
During The Flaming Lips show on Saturday, Coyne announced her death to the crowd
Coyne approached the teenager and said he recognized her from previous shows and they managed to keep in touch through the COVID-19 pandemic
They ultimately used the lockdown to record an full of Nick Cave cover songs called Where the Viaduct Looms, which was released in November 2021 when Smith was just 14
Coyne approached the teenager and said he recognized her from previous shows and they managed to keep in touch through the COVID-19 pandemic.
They ultimately used the lockdown to record an full of Nick Cave cover songs called Where the Viaduct Looms, which was released in November 2021 when Smith was just 14.
She launched a Kickstarter to cover funds to record her first solo album last summer, which surpassed its goal.
The last update in early August 2024 revealed she was working on the music video for her song Split in the Sky and that the album was still coming.
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